Last year, Milwaukee Film held its inaugural season of “Cinematic Sisterhood,” a series of films that brings well-deserved (and often overdue) attention to the work of women in the industry. Now in the midst of its second go-around, the series will bring Wildwood, NJ to the Oriental Theatre on July 11, which made this episode the perfect time to welcome the perfect guest to the podcast.

Tracey Thomas is the co-founder of online service provider Exec-PC and was in the midst of her retirement when she embarked on a project titled My First and Last Film. Released in 2019, the documentary notably featured an all-female crew as Thomas tangled with questions about aging, with Milwaukee Film playing what she called a “very instrumental” role in making the project a reality.

Thomas was in the audience for the first year of “Cinematic Sisterhood” and took it upon herself to get more involved this time around. In fact, she’s presenting the entire series, which started in June with a screening of Billie Jean King documentary Give Me the Ball!

This episode keeps its focus on the documentary yet to come, which has become a classic since its initial 1994 release. Wildwood, NJ has a dream-like quality, courtesy of its heavy use of Super-8 film as it tells the story of “the last great American carnival town.” Like Thomas’s project, this is another one created by an all-female team, led by co-director Ruth Leitman, who will be at the Oriental Theatre for a Q&A when the movie screens July 11.

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